According to the United States Golf Association's (USGA) rules of golf, a golf hole must be 4.25 inches (108 mm) in diameter and at least 4 inches (101.6 mm) deep. If a lining is used, it must be sunk at least one inch (25.4 mm) below the putting green surface, unless the nature of the soil makes it impracticable to do so; however, its outer diameter must not exceed 4.25 inches (108 mm).
While a golfer may attempt to hit his or her ball as close to the hole as possible, there is a good chance that the ball may end up on a part of the green far from the hole. Because the hole liners (i.e. cups) are sunk at least one inch below the putting green surface, the golfer may not be able to see the sunken cup from a distance. All that would be visible to the golfer would be a one inch strip of earth, which would likely be dirt. Because dirt is earthen colored and does not provide much contrast with the putting surface, the golfer may have trouble detecting the location of the golf hole, which could result in missed putts.
To improve the visibility of the hole, it is known to paint the one inch strip of earth between the top of the golf cup and the putting green a light color, such as white. The white paint gives the appearance of the golf cup extending all the way to the putting surface, which allows a golfer away from the hole to more easily detect the location of the golf hole, while still staying within the rules of the game.
One way to apply the paint is to have a golf course greenskeeper physically paint the area with a brush and a can of paint. However, this approach is time-consuming, and paint can easily spill on the cup or the putting surface of the green.
Another approach is to use a spray paint canister. A greenskeeper may choose to simply hold the canister in his or her hand and to spray paint the area inside the golf hole. Again, this approach is time intensive, and it is difficult to apply the paint only where desired.
Another approach is to use a spray paint canister as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,305 (the '305 patent). However, the apparatus described in the '305 patent suffers from several deficiencies. First, the apparatus rests on the putting surface and thus has the potential for damaging or altering the otherwise smooth surface around the hole. Another disadvantage is that the apparatus disclosed does not allow for the full interior periphery of a golf hole to be painted with one continuous motion. Rather, when the spray canister is depressed and rotated, the arms extending into the hole block the stream of paint from the canister, which results in areas of the hole that are not painted. To fully paint the entire interior periphery, the apparatus must be rotated and the canister reinserted to apply more paint. Further, because the apparatus only has arms and a nozzle depresser disposed inside the hole, there is nothing to block the stream of paint from contacting the golf cup.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved golf hole painting apparatus that overcomes the deficiencies in the art.